Dale Center for the Study of War and Society
Graduate Alumni Placement
Dale Center faculty, graduate students, and alumni at the Society for Military History's annual meeting in Fort Worth, Texas in 2022.
PhD Students:
2023
Hasik, Hayley Michael. "The Helicopter War: Unraveling the Myth and Memory of a Vietnam War Icon." Chair: Dr. Heather M. Stur.
- Current Placement: Educator/Interpreter at the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site in Denison, Texas.
2022
Peterson, Lindsey R. "The Expansionist Cause: Union Civil War Commemorations as Tools of Western Colonization." Chair: Dr. Susannah J. Ural.
- Current Placement: Associate Editor of the Civil War & Reconstruction Governors of Mississippi Project and Adjunct Instructor at University of Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Somers, Lucas. "Embattled Learning: Education and Emancipation in the Post-Civil War Upper South." Chair: Dr. Susannah J. Ural.
- Current Placement: Assistant Professor of History at Lindsey Wilson College, Columbia, Kentucky.
2021
Mortimer, John. 'We Seek A Stable Structure: Détente', Human Rights, and National Security Policy, 1974–1981.” Chair: Dr. Heather Stur
- Current Placement: Historian at U.S. Army Center of Military History, Ft. McNair, D.C.
2020
Hazzard, Wesley. “The Face of Intervention: Military Humanitarianism during the 1965 Dominican Crisis.” Chair: Dr. Heather Stur.
- Current Placement: Historian at U.S. Army Center of Military History, Ft. McNair, D.C.
2019
Doidge, Michael. "An Army Worth Fighting For: The U.S. Army’s Battle for Relevance in National Security from 1946 to 1964." Chair: Dr. Heather Stur.
- Current Placement: Director and Supervisory Historian for the U.S. Air Force at Air Force Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California
2018
Cantrell, Kelly. "Consuming Victory: American Women and the Politics of Food Rationing during World War II." Chair: Dr. Andrew Haley.
- Current Placement: Director of the Honors College and History Professor at East Mississippi Community College, Scooba Mississippi
Colbourn, Colin. "Esprit de Marine Corps: The Making of the Modern Marine Corps through Public Relations, 1911-50." Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: Lead Historian, Project Recovery
Engle, Jason. "The Schützenwesen and the Roots of Austrian Paramilitarism in the First Republic." Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest
- Current Placement: Historian with the History and Museum Program of the Air Force Material Command, Dayton, Ohio
2017
Fitzmorris, John. “Bearing the ‘Double Burden; Chaplains in Combat during the Vietnam War.” Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: Instructor at University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana
Taylor, Samantha A. "'Gosh, I Miss the Cold War': Post-Cold War Foreign Policymaking in the United States, 1989–1995." Chair: Dr. Heather Stur.
- Current Placement: Assistant Professor in the Space Power Department of Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama
2016
Thompson, Robert. "A Facade in Phu Yen: American Pacification Efforts in a South Vietnamese Province" Chairs: Drs. Heather Stur and Andrew Wiest
- Current Placement: Historian with the Documentary Team at Army University Press, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
2015
Hemmis, Timothy Christopher. “Trading Identities: National Identity, Loyalty, and Backcountry Merchants in Revolutionary America, 1740 – 1816.” Chair: Dr. Kyle F. Zelner.
- Current Placement: Associate Professor of History (Tenured), Texas A&M University-Central Texas, Killeen, Texas
Bius, Joel Richard. “The Soldier and the Cigarette: 1918 – 1986.” Chair: Dr. Louis Kyriakoudes.
- Current Placement: Headmaster, Eastwood Christian School, Montgomery, Alabama
2014
Wieland, Robert. "Reagan's Disraeli: Caspar Willard Weinberger as Secretary of Defense, 1981-87." Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: Curator, First White House of the Confederacy, Montgomery, Alabama
2013
Conklin, Dennis Blair. “Conflict and Controversy in the Confederate High Command: Johnston, Davis, Hood, and the Atlanta Campaign of 1864.” Chair: Dr. Susannah Ural.- Current Placement: History Teacher, Jackson Academy, Jackson, Mississippi
2006
Chappo, John Fabian. “William H. Mahone of Virginia: An Intellectual Biography, 1830-1890.” Chair: Dr. Bradley Bond.
- Current Placement: Instructor of History and the History of Technology at Penn College, Williamsport, Pennsylvania
2005
Boler, Jaime Elizabeth. “City Under Siege: Resistance and Power in Natchez, MS 1719-1857.” Chair: Dr. Greg O’Brien.
- Current Placement: Jones County Junior College, Ellisville, Mississippi
2003
Catino, Martin Scott. “Mussolini’s March on America: Italian-Americans and the Fascist Experience, 1922-1941.” Chair: Dr. R. Geoffrey Jensen.
- Current Placement: Assistant Professor and Department Chair, College of Security and Global Studies at the American University in the Emirates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2001
Vaughn, William Ashley. “Natchez during the Civil War.” Chair: Dr. William K. Scarborough.
- Current Placement: Independent Researcher in Jackson, Mississippi
1998
Barbier, Mary Kathryn. “D-Day Deception: Operation Fortitude and the Normandy Invasion.” Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: Professor of History at Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS and Co-editor, War in History
Apel, John Patrick. “A Window of Opportunity: A History of the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in the First Half of the Korean War.” Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: Lawyer, Portsmouth, Ohio
MA Students
2022
John, DeLee. "Henry Knox: The American Frontier as a Foreign Policy Arena, 1785-1794." Chair: Dr. Kyle Zelner.
Losen, Maeve. "Emotions in Work and War: Comparisons of Emotional-Cultures of New Deal CCC Enrollees and WWII U.S. Army Enlistees, 1933-1945." Chair: Dr. Kevin Greene.
- Current Placement: Manager, Center for Digital Humanities, School of Humanities, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Singleton, Michael. ""Conserving" The Middle Ground: Tennessee's Unionist Press in Secession Crisis, 1860-1861." Chair: Dr. Susannah J. Ural.
- Current Placement: Employed by the United States Secret Service, Washington D.C.
Washam, Brian. "Validation in Vietnam: Motivation and Experiences of Vietnam Veterans Who Returned to Vietnam as Tourists." Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: PhD Student at the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
2021
Abulawi, Amanda. "Higher Command: An Examination of African American Leadership in the Vietnam Era." Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: Processing Assistant, Historical Manuscripts & Archives at McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi
DeFazio, T. Michael. "For Cause and Countries: Initial, Sustaining, and Combat Motivation in the Royal Air Force Eagle Squadrons, 1940-1942." Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: U.S. Air Force, Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training in Wichita Falls, Texas
Loper, Billy. "Paradoxes of the Heart and Mind: Three Case Studies in White Identity, Southern Reality, and the Silenced Memories of Mississippi Confederate Dissent, 1860-1979." Chair: Dr. Susannah J. Ural.
- Current Placement: Analyst, Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER), Mississippi Legislature, Jackson, Mississippi
Stobaugh, Lindsey. "Recognizing Race: The Impact of Twentieth-Century Feminist Movements on Race Relations in West Germany." Chair: Dr. Allison Abra.
- Current Placement: Academic Advisor, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado
Turnbaugh, Cody. "'My Bruises Are Inward:' A Study of Mental Trauma in the American Civil War." Chair: Dr. Susannah J. Ural.
- Current Placement: History Instructor, Murl Windsor Academy, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
2020
Coffey, Regina. "'You Must Live, and Show to the World What They Have Been Doing Here': The Survival of the 'Rabbits' of Ravensbrück." Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: PhD student in History at Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Lewis, Taylor. "Helmand: The U.S. Marines and Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, 2010-2012." Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: History Teacher, The Galloway School, Friendswood, Texas
Major, Justin. "The Unknown War: Army of the Republic of Vietnam Combat Operations 1962-1963." Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: PhD student in History at the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Myers, Amy. "A Call to Arms: A Comparative Study of Mississippi and Kentucky Citizens During the Secession Crisis, 1859-1861." Chair: Dr. Susannah J. Ural.
- Current Placement: Review and Compliance Assistant for the Historic Preservation Division, Mississippi Department of Archives & History, Jackson, Mississippi
2019
Price, Brannon. "The Fighting Blue Ridgers: Combined Arms Capabilities of the US Army's 80th Infantry Division in World War II, 1944-1945." Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: Social Studies Teacher, Robert Anderson Middle School, Anderson, South Carolina
Sarvela, John. "Soldaten des Westens: An Analysis of the Wartime Experiences of Three German-American Regiments from the St. Louis-Belleville Region." Chair: Dr. Susannah J. Ural.
- Current Placement: PhD student in History at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma
2018
Partain, Aderian. "Cornerstone of Union Victory: Officer Partnerships in Joint Operations in the West." Chair: Dr. Susannah J. Ural.
2017
Barnett, Tracy L. "Maligned 'Milish:' Mississippi Militiamen in the Civil War." Chair: Dr. Susannah J. Ural.
- Current Placement: PhD Student at the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
Foster, Lisa. "'To Mississippi, Alone, Can They Look for Assistance': Confederate
Welfare in Mississippi, 1861–1957." Chair: Dr. Susannah J. Ural.
Lovering, Richard. "Sir Robert Thompson's Better War: The British Advisory Mission
and the South Vietnamese Strategic Hamlet Program, 1961–1963." Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: History Instructor at United States Military Academy, West Point
Rossi, Guido. "Italian Fellas in Olive Drab: Exploring the Experiences of Italian-American
Servicemen in Sicily and Italy, 1943–1945." Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: PhD Student at Ohio State University
Schaefer, Nicholas. "For King and Country: Reconsidering the Great War Soldier in
Britain, 1914–1945." Chair: Dr. Allison Abra.
Strohmetz, Carol. "Women In Wartime Shipyards: Operating A Drill Press Was Like Using
An Egg Beater." Chair: Dr. Deanne Stephens
2016
Martin, David. "Mr. Jefferson’s Army in Mr. Madison’s War: Atrophy, Policy, and Legacy in the War of 1812." Chair: Dr. Kyle F. Zelner.
- Current Placement: United States Air Force.
Nelson, Anna Rikki. “Shaken, Not Stirred: Espionage, Fantasy, and British Masculinity during the Cold War.” Chair: Dr. Allison Abra.
- Current Placement: Archives Technician at U.S. National Archives and Records, Seattle, WA
2014
Ward, Samuel Howard. “Jackson’s Flying Dutchmen: The Significance of the Royal Netherlands Military Flying School.” Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: United States Air Force
White, Ruth Poe. “A Tale of Two Cities: Vicksburg and Natchez, Mississippi during the American Civil War.” Chair: Dr. Susannah Ural.
- Current Placement: PhD Candidate, University of Kentucky, Lexington
2013
Branstiter, Eugene Allan. “Madness, Scalawagery, and Reconstruction: Dr. William M. Compton and Civil War Era Politics.” Chair: Dr. Susannah Ural.
- Current Placement: Training Specialist at VA Palo Alta Health Care System
Foster, Aaron Edward. “Inconspicuous but Indispensable: Charles Anderson Dana as Assistant Secretary of War.” Chair: Dr. Susannah Ural.
- Current Placement: United States Air Force
Seal, Stephanie Anne. “Victims of Liberty: Virginia’s Response to Loyalists and Loyalism in Williamsburg, 1770 – 1781.” Chair: Dr. Kyle F. Zelner.
- Current Placement: Customer Enablement Manager, SchoolStatus, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
2012
Riotto, Angela Maria. “Furnish the Balance: The 1863 Roots of Hard War Strategy in the American Civil War.” Chair: Dr. Susannah Ural.
- Current Placement: Historian with the Documentary Team, Army University Press
Wilson, L. B. “Perception and Realities of the Irish Republican Army during the Second World War.” Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: PhD Candidate, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS
2011
McGrew, Matthew Robert. “Beneath the Surface: American Culture and Submarine Warfare in the 20th Century.” Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: Education Coordinator, West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History
Nicholls, Nancy Nicole. “The Last Victorian Knight: A Study of T.E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt.” Chair: Dr. Amy Milne-Smith.
2010
Lazenby, Kaci Joanne. “A New Road to Peace? Jimmy Carter’s Middle East Diplomacy: The Break-Up of Pan-Arabism and a New Cold War Balance of Power.” Chair: Dr. Heather Stur.
- Current Placement: History Teacher, North Forrest High School
2009
Bell, Earl William. “Sword of Reform, Sword of Evangelism: The Forging of an Evangelical
Military.” Chair: Dr. Michael Neiberg.
Colbourn, Colin Michael. “Espirit de Marine Corps: The Making of the Modern Marine Corps through Public Relations, 1898-1929.” Chair: Dr. Michael Neiberg.
- Current Placement: Lead Historian, Project Recovery
Hollifield, Kimberly Lanell. “Galvanizing a Nation: Political Rhetoric that Drove America Toward Civil War.” Chair: Dr. William K. Scarborough.
Jonathan Daniel. “A Manufactured Rebellion: An Assessment of the Seizure of the West Florida Convention and the 1810 West Florida Rebellion.” Chair: Dr. Brian LaPierre.
- Current Placement: St. Philip's College, San Antonio, TX
Urbanak, Anthony Otis. “The Changing Nature of the Army As Seen Through the Lens of Enlisted Personnel Recruitment.” Chair: Dr. Michael Neiberg.
2008
Beech, Cameron Ryan. “Men Set Apart: The Staff College, Staff Officers, and the Professionalization
of the British Army’s Officer Corps.” Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest
- Current Placement: History Instructor and British Studies Coordinator, Hinds Community College, Raymond, MS
Obinalli, Kelechi. “American Foreign Policy and the Internalization of the Biafran War, 1967-1970.” Chair: Dr. Deanne S. Nuwer.
2006
Cantrell, Kelly Elizabeth. “We Can Do It! Hollywood Feature Films, American Servicemen, and the Second World War.” Chair: Dr. Stephen Sloan.
- Current Placement: Director of the Honors College and History Professor at East Mississippi Community College
Coleman, Rebecca Leigh. “European Violence and the Papal Dream: A Study in Medieval Peace Initiatives.” Chair: Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice.
French, Wesley Tyler. “Changes and Trends in the American Film Industry and their Impact on the Vietnam Subgenre, 1965-1990.” Chair: Dr. Bradley Bond.
Hession, William David. “Turpentining in the Piney Woods: Hattiesburg and the Naval Stores Industry.” Chair: Dr. Bradley G. Bond.
2004
Hall, David Bradley. “Combat Medical Soldiers: US Army First Echelon Medics in the European Theater of Operations during the Second World War.” Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
Overby, Lee T. “The Most Horrible War: The Impact of Technology, Logistics, and Disease on the Anglo-Asante War of 1873-4.” Chair: Dr. James Patterson Smith.
Stewart, Jason Andrew. “Comforting the Vanquished: A History of the Beauvoir Soldiers’ Home.” Committee Chair: Dr. William K. Scarborough.
- Current Placement: Hinds County Community College, Raymond, MS
2003
Walters, Andrew Howard. “Initiative in Command: The Learning Curve in the British Army during World War I.” Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: Historian, First Air Force, Tyndall Air Force Base
2002
Cates, Joseph E. “The Fight for an Independent Army: Amalgamation and the AEF in the First World War.” Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Oral History Coordinator at Sullivan Museum & History Center at Norwich University
Davis, Edward Harold. “Guadalcanal, 7 August 1942- 26 October 1942. (1) The Battle of the Tenaru River, 21 August 1942, (2) The Battle of Bloody Ridge, 12-14 September 1942, (3) The Battle of Henderson Field and the Lunga River, 24-26 October 1942.” Chair: Dr. Louis M. Kyriakoudes.
Hudson, Janet Maria. “The Hub City Home Front: Women of Hattiesburg, Mississippi during World War II.” 2002. Chair: Dr. Marjorie Julian Spruill.
Loicano, Martin. “An Analysis of the Failure of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces.” Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of War and Democracy of the National World War II Museum, New Orleans, LA
2000
Spencer, David Brett. “Sword of Ulysses: The Unconditional Surrender Doctrine and the Rise of American Imperialism.” Chair: Dr. Kenneth G. McCarty.
1998
Monday, Steve. “The Troubled Color Line: Race Relations in Jackson, Mississippi during World War II.” Chair: Dr. Neil R. McMillen.
Williams, Benjamin Shawn. “Stuck in the Middle: Kentucky Politics and the Confederate Invasion of 1862.” Chair: Dr. James Patterson Smith.
1997
Kimball, Larry Scott. “British Volunteers in World War I: Changing Attitudes and Perceptions”. Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
1996
Dougal, Ian. “Gunboat Democracy: American Exceptionalism and the Military Interventions in Grenada (1983) and Panama (1989).” Chair: Dr. Kenneth G. McCarty.
- Current Placement: Dean of Academic Quality at Hult International Business School, London, UK
Huff, Edward Eugene. “British and American Policy toward Italian Territorial Claims in the First World War.” Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
1995
Adams, Owen E. Jr. “Confederate Major General Robert E. Rodes: A Civil War Biography.” Chair: Dr. William K. Scarborough.
McDonald, Sam Dawson. “The Civil Thorn: Congressman Ross Collins and the American Military, 1921-1943.” Chair: Dr. Kenneth G. McCarty.
Patterson, Steven. “The Forgotten Army: Morale Problems of the British Fourteenth Army in India during World War II.” Chair: Dr. Andrew Wiest.
- Current Placement: Associate Professor of History and Political Science, Mississippi College , Clinton, MS
Stewart, Paula. “Villain of the Peace: The Career and Image of James Longstreet in Southern History.” Chair: Dr. William K. Scarborough.
1994
McLain, Robert A. “At His Majesty’s Request: The Indian Army Corps on the Western Front, 1914-1915.” Chair: Dr. L. Margaret Barnett.
- Current Placement: Professor of History at California State, Fullerton
1993
Kelly, James R. Jr. “The Confederate Ironclad Program and the Defense of the West.” Chair: Dr. William K. Scarborough.
O’Connor, Patrick Joseph. “To Destroy or Create: American Occupation Policy for Japan, 1945-1952.” Chair: Dr. Kenneth G. McCarty.
Tuepker, John Lee. “The Effects of World War II on Blacks in Harrison County, Mississippi.” Chair: Dr. Neil R. McMillen.
Vaughn, WA. “The Black Militia in the Battle of New Orleans.” Chair: Dr. John Guice.
Zhang, Kemin. “Why They Fought?— An Analysis of the Motives of Non-slaveholding Whites toward the Civil War.” Chair: Dr. William K. Scarborough.
- Current Placement: New York Public Library, New York City, NY
1992
Snell, William Halsey Jr. “Union and Confederate Treatment of Prisoners of War during the American Civil War.” Chair: Dr. William K. Scarborough.
1991
Gunn, Mark E. “The Magnolia Cross: The Role of Mississippi Chaplains during the Civil War.” Chair: Dr. William K. Scarborough.
Wedding, Stephen E. “Sherman’s Meridian Expedition: Modern Warfare in Mississippi.” Chair: Dr. William K. Scarborough
- Current Placement: History Instructor at Hinds County Community College
